Posts Tagged ‘Honey’

Honey is one of the many gifts that honey bees provide us with. We’re all familiar with honey as a favorite sweeter for beverages and food. What isn’t as commonly known is that honey also has some beauty benefits and unique medicinal properties. Whether you like raw honey, creamed honey, comb honey or any other kind of honey, here are five creative “honey hacks” to help you take full advantage of your sweet, sticky honey:

1. Has your honey crystallized? Heat it up. Honey crystallization (also called “honey granulation”) naturally happens when some of the sugar begins to crystallize. It’s nothing to be concerned about as your honey is just as good as when it was liquid. Some people – myself included – actually prefer this granulated honey. This crystallized honey makes a fantastic spread on toast and on hard cheese. It also dissolves nicely when stirred into some warm tea. But, if you’d like to return your crystallized honey to its liquid state, you can do so by slowly heating it for up to a minute. Some do say that it is not good to heat honey as it destroys any beneficial enzymes in the honey.

2. Out of sugar? Use honey! Since honey is up to twice as sweet as table sugar, use up to half the amount in honey. Honey has been a natural sweetener since prehistoric times and some say a more nutritious alternative to sugar. It not only contains small amounts of minerals, vitamins and enzymes, but also is absorbed by the body in a more slow and steady way, which is better for blood sugar levels.

3. Cooking with honey? Here’s a tip to make it easier. If you’ve ever had to measure honey with a teaspoon, tablespoon or even a measuring cup, you know how much of a pain the process can be – especially the clean up afterwards. Next time, to help honey slide off your measuring spoon smoothly and effortless, simply coat it with vegetable spray first. The honey will just slide off!

4. Have a minor skin burn? Bring on the honey. Research shows that honey is an effective treatment for minor burns. It’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties may promote healing and reduce infection. And it’s also soothing when applied. In fact, honey for burn and wound healing is now being used in medical environments. Manuka honey and Medihoney are two of the best known “medicinal honeys”. So if you unfortunately have a minor skin burn to treat, consider reaching for some honey instead of burn creme.

5. Out of moisturizer?Use honey. Honey is know as “nature’s sweetener”, but you might be surprised to learn that it’s also ideal for beauty. In fact, it’s been used for beauty since ancient time – it’s said that Cleopatra maintained her beauty with honey and milk baths. Not surprising since honey is naturally anti-inflammatory and contains antioxidants and vitamins. Honey is also a humectant, which means that it attracts water. This water penetrates your skin, providing long-lasting moisturization. So next time you are planning to apply a hydrating mask, apply honey to your face and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Do you have any “honey hacks” you’d like to add to this list? Let us know in the comments bar below or on our page on Facebook.

A new urban honey bee sanctuary has been installed in the gardens of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in partnership with NYCBeekeeping.org. The Cathedral gardens, which are already home to three peacocks and a family of red-tailed hawks, is now also home to a hive of Apis mellifera, a gentle and mild-tempered species of honey bee.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), honey bees pollinate nearly one-third of all the food we eat. Since 2006, more than three million honey bees in the U.S. have mysteriously died. The USDA states that this die-off threatens nearly $15 billion in agriculture – or 100 commercial crops – that rely on honey bee pollination. According to reports, the number of hives in the United States is at its lowest point in 50 years.

“Many people don’t understand how vital the sustainability of the pollinator population is to the environment and the food we eat every day,” said The Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, Dean of the Cathedral. “The Cathedral is well placed to support the ailing bee population and we are glad to be partnering with NYCBeekeeping.org to help spread their messages and educate New Yorkers on the importance of urban beekeeping.”

“Urban areas like New York City are getting back in touch with nature,” said Nicole Toutounji of NYCBeekeeping.org, the beekeeper who will maintain the hive. “The Cathedral’s urban bee sanctuary is part of a visionary plan to reclaim our relationship with nature, support honey bee populations and contribute to the city’s sustainability efforts.”

In honor of her new home, the queen bee of the hive has been named “The Divine Queen”. In the fall, an artisanal honey will be extracted from the hive, which will be known as “Divine Honey.” As bees only travel 3-5 miles to collect flower nectar and pollen, the Divine Honey will take on the unique characteristics of the Cathedral’s gardens and neighboring flora.

19

06 2012

“That buzzing-noise means something. If there’s a buzzing noise, somebody’s making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you’re a bee … and the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey … and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.” ~~ Winnie the Pooh

I love Pooh. Really, I do. But as Piglet says, “Pooh hasn’t much Brain.” So, as National Honey Month comes to a close, I’d like to point out a few other amazing things that honeybees do that give us humans more reasons to love them. As if making honey (the only food produced by an insect that is eaten by man, by the way) and doing the lionshare of pollinating food crops wasn’t enough! Read the rest of this entry →

23

09 2010

What is it about that title?
Hmmmm…….. ED Erectile dysfunction, RLS restless leg syndrome, ADD Attention deficit disorder.
One thing I have noticed about human nature is that we need to identify, label and vilify the “disorder” so that we can blame someone else, create a patented wonder drug complete with research funding to solve the problem, and of course get bailout funding.
Take for example, the other day I’m in Wal-mart sitting on a bench waiting for my lovely wife. I can hear on the pre-recorded background noise coming from the pharmacy that “dry mouth is a treatable condition”. I was shocked to hear the announcer say that “it might be treatable by sipping water or using [their product].” Go figure! Read the rest of this entry →